A non-commercial guide to organic gardening in the mid-Atlantic states, with some specifics to central Virginia..and some information applicable across the country! Or to other time zones! Across the seas! Who knew?
"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." Thomas Jefferson

Central Virginia Organic Gardener

"And 'tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes." - William Wordsworth, 1798

Monday, June 13, 2011

A Phig Grows in Philly

I always thought figs were difficult to grow even in central VA, and was surprised years ago when I saw them at Monticello. I then learned that people went through great lengths to grow them up north, using elaborate methods to shield them from cold, from building temporary winter structures for them to actually tipping the plants over into the soil over winter! My figs have been very easy to grow and care for (see my very first entry on this blog). Two weekends ago we went to Philadelphia (an underrated city- I enjoyed it very much) and stayed in the Italian Market District (great food). First, I visited Bartram's Garden again and saw the fig they have growing there-the first time I saw it two years ago, I was astonished it grew so well so far north. And then, on this trip, I saw what is in the photo above: two huge fig trees growing against a building near the Italian Market. Italian and Greek immigrants brought figs to the US in great numbers and I suspect one of them brought these. The plants are in a sheltered location, get protection and radiant heat from the brick building and look quiet happy, with huge figs on them already! Unfortunately, one photo we neglected to take was a volunteer fig growing out of a crack in the pavement. Indeed, on the visit to Philly, I saw several such figs, entwined in fences, next to other trees or growing where no one would plant them. I think figs are tougher than their reputation and I highly recommend them! One more note: Edible landscaping in Afton , VA has many varieties of figs, including the most cold tolerant, the Chicago fig.Happy gardening!

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Garden Quotes

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." Cicero

"The only thing two gardeners agree on is that the third is wrong." Mike McGrath

" If you’ve never been thrilled to the very edges of your soul by a flower in spring bloom, maybe your soul has never been in bloom.” Audra Foveo

"The love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies" G. Jekyll

"What I like about gardening is that it makes a mockery of intentions" Mirabel Osler

"The best place to find God is in the garden. You can dig for him there." George Bernard Shaw

"A familiar irony of horticulture is that gardeners desire plants that are the most difficult to obtain." Judith Sumner, 2004

"A traveller should be a botanist, for in all views plants form the chief embellishment." Ch. Darwin, 1839

"How fair is a garden amid the trials and passions of existance" Benjamin Disraeli, 1845

"Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven't time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time." Georgia O'Keeffe

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change" Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama), 5th Century B.C.E.

"Whatsoever whether great or small ugly or handsom sweet or stinking... everything in the universe appears beautifull to mee." John Bartram, 1740

"In my examination of orchids, hardly any fact has so much struck me as the endless diversity of structure for gaining the very same end, namely, the fertilization of one flower by the pollen of another." Charles Darwin

"Who has ever dreamed of finding an utilitarian purpose in the forms and colours of flowers?" Thomas Huxley

"When I observe the fate of Botanists, upon my word I doubt whether to call them sane or mad in their devotion to plants" Linnaeus 1737

About Me

I am a 50-something mother of one involved in all sorts of pursuits, from gardening to crafting to botanical illustration and I teach part time at a local University. I believe in organic as a method and way of life and making and growing things as a way to keep me happy!